“You can do it! You’re strong enough! Just add another 150 pounds.” I said to myself as I was lifting weights.   My weight set was fun to use. I started lifting weights in middle school. My friend Brandon, who came here from Sacramento, showed me how to lift weights. Brandon is a very strong weight lifter. I liked the way he looked buff, and I wanted to look like him (except his hair cut). Also, I thought lifting weights would help me get strong to defend myself. I did start to get stronger, but I learned the hard way that you have to be careful when you are lifting weights! You should never lift weights alone. And never be overconfident.

One day I got too cocky. I knew I was getting stronger, but I didn’t think I was strong enough. I wanted to do more than what I had been doing. I thought I could lift 300 pounds instead of 150. Up down, up down, I was pulling the bar with weights attached to it.  It wasn’t hard to lift the 150 pounds so I was sure I could do more. I stopped and added another 150 pounds. All my weights were now on my weight set.  Lifting as hard as I could, I could barely lift the bar. My neck started to hurt. I was losing breath quicker than normal as I tried to lift the bar. I felt stretch marks in my arm. When I let go of the bar my arms were shaking and I was in extreme pain!
          

I now faced the reality that I couldn’t lift 300 pounds. It was disappointing and I felt pathetic.  I was sad, but even worse I was in pain! I thought I was going to die! I was in pain from my arms down to my back. Too many muscles had been pulled in my arms and back. I felt aching in my lower back. There was a burning feeling in my arms and my chest was sore.  I  layed on the ground and tried to relax, saying to myself, “I should have never done that!” I started to feel dizzy. My head was spinning. It didn’t help that I hit my head when I tried to roll over.  My head started to bleed a little and I was in even more pain. I felt a headache coming on. I’m still shocked that I wasn’t scared.

This all could have been avoided if I just stuck to what I was able to do.  I didn’t listen. My father had told me “Don’t over-do it.” Brandon told me, “You should never lift too much.”  I had too much pride and I didn’t listen to what I had been told. I also should not have been lifting weights alone. I needed a spotter and was too impatient to wait for one.  It took four days for the pain to go away.  I had to rest for four days and use my grandparents hot tub.  I also took cold showers to help numb the pain. Finally I felt ok again.

If you lift weights then you better be careful! Always have someone watch you so that they can help you if you need it. Only lift as much weight as you can. Never get over confident and lift more than you should. Lift the amount of weight that you can at least ten times before ever trying to lift more. You have to build up your muscles before you can go farther. You can cause yourself pain and it could be dangerous when you lift  too many pounds. If you don’t listen to this advice then you will regret it!